1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a loudspeaker apparatus and more particularly to a stereophonic pillow speaker system.
2. Prior art
Pillows which include loudspeakers are well known in the art as disclosed in patents, some of which are: U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,450 to Majoros, U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,719 to Lanzara, U.S. Pat. No. 3,416,804 to Christie, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,621,155 to Pruitt.
While such prior art attempts to provide comfort in listening to sound emanating from a loudspeaker, they do have certain disadvantages, difficulties and problems. For example, in Lanzara U.S. Pat. No. 3,384,719, physical contact between the listener's head and a Masonite supporting sheet which supports two loudspeakers is required to provide direct transmission of relatively low frequency vibrations to the back of a listener's head. While this direct mechanical coupling and transmission may be good for the transmission of bass vibrations, it has been proven to be relatively uncomfortable and unnatural to the listener.
In Majoros, U.S. Pat. No. 3,290,450, two speakers in a foam rubber pillow-like support yield to a user's head when placed thereon to direct the two loudspeakers and channels of sound therefrom towards the mastoid area of the listener's head. This has a disadvantage in that the user's head must be placed equidistant from the loudspeakers prior to resting on the pillow, otherwise the user's head may come directly upon a speaker and therefore create a problem of sound direction and comfort. Moreover, Majoros' speaker system does not produce near field effects.
There are many difficulties with such prior art pillow loudspeaker systems including the requirement of direct mechanical contact between the listener's head and vibrational transmission means. As disclosed in the patent to Lanzara, prior art requires relatively large loudspeakers to achieve acoustic baffling. Such large loudspeakers have the disadvantages of poor high frequency response, poor high frequency dispersion, greater cost, greater weight and larger physical size, all of which are adverse characteristics in a pillow speaker system.
Further, none of the prior art loudspeakers for pillows compensate for deficiencies of the loudspeakers at the extreme low or high frequencies, nor do they reduce out-of-phase rumble without sacrificing bass response. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for an improved stereophonic pillow speaker system which employs the near field effect and does not require mechanical transmission from the loudspeakers to the listener's head and solves the aforesaid difficulties and problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved stereophonic pillow speaker system.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an improved stereophonic pillow speaker system for generating bass response through airborne acoustics rather than by mechanical vibrational transmission.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an improved stereophonic pillow speaker system which has means for reducing out-of-phase rumble and has good bass response.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved comfortable and high quality sound stereophonic pillow speaker system.